The only sound was silence.
Well, that was not quite true. On the wall on my left, there was a small wooden clock, punctuating each second with an obnoxious ‘toc’.
Again and again. Just that one dull sound. It racked on the nerves and the brain like nothing else, preventing one from achieving good focus by making that same noise at the exact wrong moment.
I could have had true silence. A flicker of my horn and no sound would reach me, should I so much express the desire. But I couldn’t bring myself to. S-sometimes… I was worried I might forget.
Not forget this task, but forget why I cared. At times, it was harder to pretend these hooves hid human flesh… from time to time, I just stared at my muzzle or at my wings and pretended to see what I was like underneath…
I couldn’t recall every detail… not every generality either…
Well, that might not mean much…
The subjects contained within those scrolls were fascinating… oh so fascinating… no time to ponder on other stuff.
Okay, to be fair, this could be quite interesting. Ignoring the message in Celestia sending me to study Equestrian laws, the reasoning between the ponies’ rules and regulations, in addition to the sanctions inflicted each time, well… it’s kind of neat.
My eyes were slowly skimming over the forbidden practice, in exercise or in study, unless they were heavily supervised. The phrasing was refreshingly direct too.
Evil magic, which constitutes an offense worthy of horn removal, is the practice of magic with eroding effect on the empathy center of the brain. Torture of any pony or other citizen through the use of magic will be considered ‘Evil’. DUH.
A unicorn king, with an ashen grey coat hidden by a red cape and a horn curved and bloody, made his way to the center of my mind. There was no doubt possible on whether he had been an adept.
More intriguing though was the aforementioned effect on the empathy of the being that used evil magic. It seemed worth my attention…
Further down the page though, another line blew my mind.
Chaos magic is considered outlawed, by virtue of it altering the laws of the world and thus endangering every living being.
Oh, it wasn’t about how chaos magic was outlawed. After Discord, anything less would be moronic. No, rather, my focus was on the weight of what had been reminded to me.
Altering the laws of… A shiver went down my spine, all the way to my core.
Chaos, this concept that had alicorns of all ages grimace in disgust at the sheer mention of its name… t-this impossibility that we are not allowed to think of.
It altered the laws of the world and alicorns are laws. To alter the laws… would be the same as…altering alicorns... or...
Reality warping.
Countless moments of horror came back to me, as I tried to remember how often… how badly my world had shattered and had been replaced by another. So many times had my history changed… had others’ history changed.
I already knew it was reality warping. I knew about balance, in how one side of the spectrum is all about following a certain Order, while the other is about breaking it.
Things hadn’t changed. This didn’t change anything…
Chaos is reality warping. D-does that mean…?
To imagine an alicorn wrapped in it, in Chaos, like a cocoon or a costume, should have been inconceivable, simply alien and out-of-this-world to me. Yet… well, I was here, wasn’t I?
Yes. I was.
And Celestia had wanted me to read this… It could only mean one thing. Seriously.
She knows. Buck… she knows… Chaos is forbidden by law… lest they destroy themselves, right? So the punishment for its practice…
Words just failed me to express my dismay.
I wanted to panic. It felt like the appropriate response to somepony as powerful as her having deduced things such as illegal magic use by us, but I could also see that for her to send me here had to have significance. If this was her method to announce that she knew exactly what had transpired before, what had happened… then it also meant she was not going to punish us just yet. Not openly, at the very least…
Why bother doing it this way otherwise? There was no need to hide. What? Would the scandal of another alicorn turning out to be evil too dangerous to the Royal Pony Sisters’ rule? Or was it just the fact that nobility as a whole seemed quite petty?
I’m really turning up the self-loathing, ain’t I?
Speak of the devil…
Prince Blueblood entered the library, his mane not nearly as well-groomed as it usually was, falling into his eyes and given him a generally disheveled and uncaring appearance. He was not dressed either, a first for him since I had met him.
Not that I wanted to know more about the pompous idiot, but it was… well… intriguing to say the least. The laws about him being entitled to revenge did float in my head for a few seconds, before deciding that, as bad as he could be, he was still trying to better himself.
Which a lot more than what I can say about me.
“Prince Ventus,” he whispered in passing, acknowledging me with a nod before stiffly making his way to a shelf nearby.
His whole body screamed of tension, his muscles seemingly locked when he stood tall. The outlines of his neck stretching to spot the right title, the princely stallion did want to appear nervous, but his self-control was lacking.
Strange. He had generally seemed to have a decent poker face before. Perhaps it was just being in my presence that unnerved him. I could get why…
With shaky control over his magic, he missed his first levitation spell, which caused the book to fall off the shelf entirely. In a library, the sound had the impact of a thunderclap. Had I not been staring before, I would have let out a whinny of fright, like that janitor three shelves away.
Thank buck I didn’t. That would have been humiliating.
A snarl briefly appearing on his face, Blueblood took a deep breath and picked up the book again, this time with a steady flow of magic. With a sigh, he placed it into his saddlebag and turned to leave.
It seemed as if that unexpected meeting would end up quite innocuous, when…
“We never did finish that conversation from last night,” I thought out loud.
My own eyes almost flew out of their orbits. Why did I just say that?!
He had stopped dead in his track and slowly turned around to face me. His lack of words betrayed his confusion.
“Oh, perhaps you don’t remember, what’s with the alcohol and all…” Even if I clearly remember what I did last night… “I recall you being somewhat surprised at the newest assignments Celestia has given my brother and myself. Something about ‘being more to it than that’. Have you drawn any conclusion so far?”
He bit his lips, doubtlessly regretting making that observation now. Nonetheless, he answered, with conviction.
“I might not pretend to know your own schedule, Ventus, but I would rather not accumulate work for later for the sake of your curiosity. What I can do now, I will.”
I was a little surprised, not gonna lie. Oh, so you have a work ethic now? …Actually, I don’t really know if you had one before or not…
“Is it only for my sake, though?” I asked, then answered mentally. Eh, probably.
His lips pressed into a thin line. He obviously didn’t want to spend that much more time here and might even have an actual workload, but I could bet that, at the moment, there was a little voice whispering in his ear about how this might be something he would need.
With a resigned “fine”, Blueblood sat down at my table. Ignoring the pit of anxiety in my stomach, I tossed aside my readings. His presence, usually so nerve grating, had yet to put me on edge in that brief exchange.
It was better than nothing…
This is a bit of a test… will I lose my cool or not? And if I do…
“How is your quest of becoming a decent stallion turning out for you?” I asked, not willing to allow uncomfortable silence.
With a derisive snort, he gave a bitter mocking bow. “Why, I am doing well. How about yours, kettle?”
I would appreciate if you were a little more of an empty-headed idiot, for starters.
The most infuriating about this was that time was giving Blueblood a much better standing ground against me than the opposite.
“I am trying to understand the laws of this kingdom.” I shrugged. “It is quite interesting.”
“Oh?” His smile was joyless. “How barbaric and primitive are they to you?”
I walked right into this one.
“They aren’t.” I sighed, feeling a little on the down low, what’s with examples of my stupidity or my short-temper flaring into evidence. Closing my eyes, I willed myself not to mess this one up again. “I do apologize for that. It was thoroughly insulting to you and to every citizen of Equestria. In a show of anger, I went much further than I should have.”
A few seconds went by without anything happening, so I let light filter between my eyelids again.
Blueblood was eying me with wide eyes and a hanging jaw. He looked absolutely stunned.
“Y-you…” He opened his mouth, but no further sound came out. He closed it quickly, not knowing what to say.
His reaction stung a bit. Still, I managed to keep those emotions in check too.
“Anyway, the point of this was that I read about an old law, one that I figured you might have heard of. Noble ponies can, if their pride or honor are gravely attacked, retaliate in equal measure. My actions certainly would have allowed this to stand in court, would it not? Yet… yet you did nothing against me afterward. Was that another sign of the good pony you are underneath the mask?”
To my surprise, Blueblood looked away, showing nothing of the arrogance I had thought he would use to justify his lack.
“I-it wasn’t… being the better stallion…” He said so quietly another pony would not have heard it. “You’re an alicorn! I did not want to show myself as stupid as to aggravate matters between us.”
I blinked. Okay, that was a lot to digest. Not only was he denying a compliment made to him, he was also putting his mistakes at the front.
…Parts of me were really impressed.
Obviously though, Blueblood himself wasn’t. His head hung low, he seemed a little pitiful…
“A lifetime of work, that’s what you burdened me with.”
Cry me a river… I wanted to scream. Sure, his situation wasn’t particularly pleasant, but hell if I did not have my own problems to deal with…
I held in a sigh.
“I think you’re doing a good job, Blueblood.”
“W-what? Do you not listen? I just admitted how bad of a po-” He cut himself off in a panic. “I mean… how different…”
I nodded, feeling quite serene. “Not provoking a dangerous foe over a slight is a good thing. Fearing for your safety certainly isn’t a fault. Knowing that cowardice could be one such fault and acknowledging your own is quite the accomplishment, Prince, even if not quite in context...”
I wasn’t angry. I wasn’t bitter. Heck, I wasn’t even lying.
It was pretty cool that even a sleaze like him could see the errors of his way and try to change. And I had to try to be less of an unpleasant psycho. Enough ponies were on my back for my lack of action already. What kind of guilt tripping bandwagon would we be talking about if they saw the images in my head?
“You’re not done, but it’s a nice way to start. There are still some things you need to address.”
My remark made him shift on his hooves, or rather, squirm in place, as his rump was still very much against a cushion on the ground. He leaned slightly forward, as if to say something, but leaned back at the last moment.
Taking that as permission to go on, I paused to search for the right way to phrase my next grief with him.
“Treating mares the way you do…” Now, I’m just projecting… “Quite frankly, that is enough to earn you a good kick in the face.”
He looked exactly as if I had given him one.
“T-those mares throw themselves at me as if I were nothing but a pretty statue for them to show off!” Blueblood stood up, fire in his eyes. “Gold diggers are simply a plague upon any rich pony’s existence, but it gets to a whole new level when it comes to the nobility!”
I blinked, certainly not expecting justification like this. My mental image of Blueblood needed to be updated, quickly if possible.
“All my life I have had to deal with those insufferable vultures! You’ll excuse me for not treating them like actual living beings with feelings. I just thought I would return the favor!”
“W-well… perhaps some of them wa-”
“Have you not met at least a few mares that wished to share your bed!?” His outraged demeanor slipped a little, as the corner of his lips itched upward and the volume of his voice dropped. “No need to lie either, Prince Ventus. This is all strictly stallion conversation.”
Don’t go bro on me, Blueblood. Don’t you dare! My brain recoiled in horror, while my inner crazy wanted to smirk back to the idiot stallion. Damn my teenager mind. Four hundreds, perhaps, but still a teenager's mind, damn.
“There was one, just last night.” I wanted to gag. “She even decided to feel me up when I didn’t reply… Thank my parents my brother didn’t wake up then!”
“So quickly?” He blinked, before giving a silent chuckle. His eyes lit up with amusement. “Well, perhaps it was more one of the adventurous kind, the ones that like the bragging rights of sleeping with royalty.”
His smug tone pretty much confirmed my suspicions. I was not that naïve.
“Why do I have the feeling you don’t hate those nearly enough?”
“You wound me,” Blueblood said, putting a hoof over his chest, which he puffed out proudly. “As if I would take advantage of quick consensual and mostly attachment-free encounters between two rational beings.”
Real subtle, you lucky bastard.
“Still, those aren’t the worst. Oh no, those sweet flanks aren’t the worst. Nor are these soft fluffy wings. Nor those exotic black and white stripes.”
I rolled my eyes. Give him an acting medal, somepony!
“I was mysteriously under that impression as well, Blueblood. They probably aren’t the worst if you both know what is actually happening, I guess.”
Strangely though, his smug lewdness mostly vanished in the place of a sober, saddened grimace. “The sweet and naïve type, that’s what you must be looking out for the most.”
My stomach churned. Oh buck…
“T-they will not leave…” His eyes obscured a bit. “N-not without having their hearts broken… s-some more harshly than others…”
He fell silent after that.
I could imagine. Strangely, I could imagine precisely what being Blueblood would be like at that moment.
You are at the summit of the world and you know it, you’re royalty in the nation lead by two alicorns. You are above mere peasants and peons. So often, they are wooed by your charms… or your title and your money.
So many of them that you start to just hate those vapid, headless mares and just want them to leave you alone. Some aren’t even nobles!
Some seem like decent mares, if only they didn’t have such a foalish dream… They want to marry a prince and have beautiful foals? Well, there is only one prince and that’s you. So they will take you, not because you’re you, but because you’re a prince. Oh well, they can settle for a stallion they never met before. He’s handsome and rich.
It starts to grate on your nerves. So you lash back.
It feels good to see them leave you alone. It feels bad to see the tears glittering as they fall on the ground when they do leave.
And now, you question yourself. Were you right to hurt them?
“Trying to become a better pony is not easy. It means to take a look at yourself and point out that which you know is ugly. That is, without a doubt, a courageous thing to do. It’s what makes it so extraordinary, Blueblood.”
A non-committing grunt came from his general direction, of the variety that made one laugh with triumph. Words of wisdom swayed him not, but darn if it wasn’t fun to give.
“Well, then, you cannot become anything without starting somewhere. All you need to do is find the appropriate course of action, the one a truly noble pony would choose, and take small steps on that path. Don’t pretend you’re not feeling at least guilty about some of those rejections you had to dish out.” I let the stallion stew on it for a second, using to pretend I didn’t have a plan. “Have you ever apologized to Miss Rarity?”
His jaw dropping in horror made me grin savagely on the inside. On the outside, I affected an innocent demeanor.
He wasn’t fooled.
“Now you are just trying to torture me! You cannot ignore the way she treated me at the end of the night! I even tried not to be as hard on her as the others.”
That was you holding back? Holy buck, you’re a flankhole.
“So… you won’t apologize?”
“I refuse! She saw me as nothing than a pretty dream and didn’t bother to look at me. Would you go out with mares that are only after the title, even if they are dignified about it!? And then have the gall to insult you on top of everything?!”
“No.” I shook my head and hardened my gaze. “I would not. That is not what love is about.”
Nor is emotional manipulation, but I sure am trying my hooves at it…
“But neither is being good. It… isn’t about determining who is worth not being treated like dirt. There… shouldn’t… BE a standard for that…” I replied, slow and hesitant. It would not do to rush things to their conclusion, not when dealing with a pony as prideful as Blueblood. “The Element of Generosity wasn’t very generous that night. I will freely admit that. However, that does not negate your part in it. You crushed her dreams and expectations as surely as she crushed yours.”
He sucked in air quickly, his breath hitching with an unnamed expectation. Or perhaps it was disappointment that I had not seen eye-to-eye with his point of view.
His muscles weren’t tensed anymore, but the look of silent anticipation on his face was telling. It appeared as if he wanted to relax, but knew better. Smart stallion.
“If I had to say one more thing about your night together though… well, she didn’t mean to hurt you. You wanted her to pay for her lack of consideration. You aimed to drive her away and it worked quite well. You both hurt one another, so you are both to blame, not blameless.”
He visibly cringed at that. If I was less insensitive, I might have stopped there.
“Besides, if you want to become a better pony, you will have to face your previous mistakes and attempt to fix them in earnest. Being a flankhole to so many ponies is one imperative fault you must learn to deal with. You might as well start with an obvious target.”
His eye twitched. “I… suppose you might have a point.”
Now, this should be fun.
“But if she tries to kiss me again, you can be sure your name will be crossed off my list of ponies that may offer some wisdom.”
Oh yeah, this WILL be fun.
However, while I listened to him ramble about how I was terrible at giving advices, a thought occurred to me. It wasn’t incredulity, annoyance, nor anger. It was simple confusion.
Why am I even doing this?
--
The only sound was silence.
It was quite natural however, as the only pony in the chamber was a maid, Silent Praise being her name. Her years of experience and loyal service had earned her a privileged position amongst the castle staff. With a few others, she was given a mostly free access to her princesses’ private chambers for cleaning and maintenance. She had earned that trust and never tested it.
As such, the thought of reading the scroll that appeared in a puff of green smoke didn’t even cross her mind. Without a fuss, Silent Praise simply put it on her ruler’s bedside table, where it would be easily seen and noticed.
--
The only sound was silence.
The borders of Equestria itself, when correctly referred to as the country, ended at their northern limits by a series of mountains taller than the height the bravest pegasus could fly up to. At the summit of the world, in that place, where it seemed as if the earth was reaching for the sky, stood the city of the first griffon king.
It was as much of a beautiful place as it was a harsh one, an appropriate allegory to the nature of a griffon’s lifestyle. Brutish and even barbaric to some, but not incapable of magnificence by any means. All of stone carved right out of the mountainside, the fortress watched over the rest of the world, its stone walls less of an actual protection than a show of the power held by beings that could and did stand at the top of their world.
‘Let the lesser races weep in fear of the death from above’ had been the most famous words from King Airian, before declaring war on Equestria.
Great had been his arrogance and his pride and joy remained standing, an ominous presence that waited for its chance to flood the lower levels of existence with the primal fear of the hunt.
Thus, Galepeck Castle was and would continue to be.
Any mortal would have compared it to a sand castle had they been given the chance to lay their eyes on the Greater Tribunal.
Beyond the words, beyond the ideas that were, there were those creatures whose existence acted as part of the cosmic balance. Lesser spirits were immature and their ages could still be imagined by mortals, albeit in a roundabout way and never understood for the abyss in time it represented.
Greater beings had the mortals’ mind crack.
The Elders however could not be perceived, less they allow it… Otherwise… Lights and noises, a collection of sensorial signals that translated to nothing, beings that were and were not.
The only sound was silence.
Nothing else could be expected when the Trinity stood united, calling for their presences. Events such as this one were a rarity, a once in a century occurrence, for the alicorns gathered solely to reestablish the natural order of worlds.
All were assembled at that point in time, amongst the stars and the void; their hooves, their wings and their horns took form and consciousness came. The few missing had duties that could not be forsaken. It had been their mission before, it remained so.
It was more than a simple mission that made them so wary however. Lesser spirits were uneasy and that same sentiment could at least be echoed in the actions of greater ones. Unrest was spreading amongst them…
A decree would be issued today. Order would be restored.
It was the innate purpose of the one hundred and one alicorns of the Greater Tribunal.
Overseeing all would be the Trinity, the Elders of Order.
Three beings that even alicorns did not fully understand, with a scope of power and existence beyond all but themselves and their fellow Elders.
But they knew of them and they knew of their own place in the scheme of Eternity.
Incipiens Linea, the very first being, older than Harmony itself. Incipiens Linea had come into existence and made it the natural order of things.
As was proper, she was always the first to convey her thoughts.
Words and images flashed in the assembled alicorns’ mind, translating to the will of the first. They saw of two of their own, immature spirits and lesser concepts. They saw the defiance of the law and the disturbance of order. They were made to know of the consequences, of the impending future of one world turning into a frozen wasteland.
A shiver went through the assembly, as they could not fathom actions so alien as to go against Order.
And two worried parents felt their heart shrivel weakly.
Not images this time, but different emotions spread to them all, as Vitam Mortem was not facts and words. It was the beating heart and the still body. Fear – ancient fear and shame – of their own child and their own failure. Heads hung lower, but not without anger or troubled hearts.
Difference. The two children were different, despite the obvious nature of their relationship. One hadn’t fallen. Yet.
It was a possibility, though one that elicited a cry of indignation from the crimson red stallion and his mate.
The act was improper, against the rules of the Greater Tribunal. One could not speak outside their bounds, lest they allow chaos to slip into their ranks. And that would be unforgiveable.
Magnus and Atonie stood defiant and tall despite the weight of the gazes turned toward them. To back down now would be an implicit support to the accusations; that they would never allow.
Silence stretched.
Tension increased.
Finally, pleasant perfumes from worlds beyond mortals’ imagination filled the minds and hearts.
A gesture of peace.
An offering of one’s self had been made, as was proper and orderly when wishing for consideration. The action calmed down more heated spirits, while Magnus smiled in gratitude at some old friends. When the initial surprise had subdued, his mate reacted the same way, especially when her gaze fell on them.
Dominus Ferus and Saltus Cogere had no children to call their own, but they had expressed fondness toward the two alicorns brothers. Their opinion was now registered and noted; they wished not for this trial to go on much longer.
Few agreed. They could not let themselves be swayed by sentimentality.
A stomp of a hoof resonated in vibrations through the room, but still the silence was not broken. The last of the Trinity had called for order.
Judicium Frigus.
Born in opposition to Chaos, the sworn arch-enemy of Discord, if there was such a thing in the draconequus’ twisted mind.
Justice and Retribution.
Innocents might suffer. That was all they needed to know to take action.
The second that truth had been shared with them, the assembly nodded collectively, even those opposed to its goal in the first place. Justice would prevail.
The culprits would be punished. It was just.
One more opposed, with the knowledge of previous tasks given to the transgressors.
Hope flaring in their chests, Magnus and Atonie turned, showing gratitude in their own offerings toward the being. It nodded softly and offered a story of peaceful nights, parents and children reunited.
Three beings could see the light of distrust that appeared in Judicium’s gaze. One of them simply wanted to smirk, but refused to be disrespectful to him.
Renascentia Ignis. Not Elder, but Outer, as her origins were unknown, but her being was undeniable. She took the form of a mare, simple and elegant. One could not deny her a sense of dignity beneath that playfulness she was known for.
Fiery red bangs hiding so little of her knowing blue eyes that all could see the note of knowledge beyond the simple ideal of Order, a coat of a startling white and devotion to her work that had some ashamed.
She was The Writer. The one that changed the stories for the better, until they fit the vision that would be appropriately shared. Her existence seemed dictated by the changes she brought. Rumors spoke of her as a shaper of worlds; rumors spoke on how she had earned the respect of Incipiens Linea.
That one, some suspected, understood far more than any other alicorn. Her goals differed from them all, but witnesses could not condemn her, for her talent made worlds just.
An impression of anger ensnarled the alicorns’ hearts, righteous fury set them ablaze. One hundred alicorns glared as one toward the arrogant outsider.
Renascentia held not the power to oppose the Tribunal, Judicium made them understand. They agreed. Already, her daughters had shown themselves corruptible, one being taken over by evil magic, the other consorting with Chaos.
But tales of growth and beauty started chanting through their minds in response to the barren rage of the Elder being. They were strings of words and meanings woven into a great tapestry. It was a thing of beauty, of ideas they represented, of ideals they were meant to be.
For a moment, they wavered, some more strongly than others, a few not needing Renascentia’s arguments to side with her.
The impression disappeared, blown away by an angry flash of an incandescent wing. A few lesser spirits wept at the glimpse of the Elder.
It was decreed shortly afterward, to the dismay of two parents, silently hoping for a mercy they were not certain would be given. Had they been beings of flesh and blood, their stomachs might have churned with fear and despair.
Already, one of the Trinity had disappeared from the Greater Tribunal. He was now headed toward one mortal realm, with the intention to deliver proper judgment and restore the true state of things.
Not a word had been exchanged. None would be. Not until this was fixed. Not in the face of a crisis as dire as this one.
The realm of Order, dimension of the Primordial Law and the home of the alicorns, had cracked.
For the line repeated so many times:
2862448 I say that song is a lie. A lie, I tell you!
A beautiful, beautiful LIE!
Oh.....oh my...... Aaaaaaannnndd........
SPOILERS BE HERE!
Things are about to get SERIOUSLY REAL! (I make a habit of not using swearing language, so I apologize in advance for the misquote)
So, the reason for most of Ventus' madness.....is because he is essentially an ANTI-alicorn? Wow.....that explains Discord's reaction to him all too well; the perfect being of chaos would be one that was once of order.
I like your reformation of Blueblood; it does take guts to actually SAY you've been a big jerk and bully, let alone allow Ventus breathing space even though, by law, Blueblood could have challenged, and won over, Ventus for his actions (Ventus was shown to not be in Celestia's good books recently; Blueblood could have capitalized on that).
As well......Celestia's and Luna's mother is an OUTSIDER?!?!?! As in, not native to that "realm of order"?! There's a story and a half in there.....and where did she come from, then? [Sam's] Earth, perhaps? ("The Writer?" At first I thought "wow, you brought Faust into this?" and then you went further in about her history, so I figured that probably wasn't it)
And now we have an alicorn-of-alicorns arriving on the mortal plane. Ventus made THAT much of a disturbance in the balance?! How powerful is he, really, to have Justice incarnate to go after him personally? Both his power and Tom's haven't been fully exhausted in any sense so far, so we really have no clue as to how powerful they are compared to normal ponies. Heck, we have no clue as to the extent of Celestia's power or Luna's power either; the most we've seen at all is Celestia losing to the changeling queen hyped up on a true stallion's love for his mare (which was most likely due to underestimating Chrysalis; I mean, really, you don't go full power in a room of your innocent little ponies, only enough to maybe leave the enemy barely breathing on the floor).
And I just noticed....
....Justice really doesn't like Celestia or Luna, does he? I bet he didn't care for Ventus even before all this happened, what with the connection to the previous Alicorn of Wind. Which makes me wonder......where is Mercy? I'm reminded of "A Novice Swordsman in the Canterlot Court" (by DungeonMiner; it's awesome ); here's the quote I was thinking of:
Anyway, to end this long comment, I say........
Keep it up, good writer!
2862468, Sheesh, sorry. I didn't mean to make you so upset.
"You cannot grasp the nature of our existence"
my thoughts on the alicorns. seems to be getting a little reaperish to me. And i dislike reapers.
2862565 As if I would get angry about THAT.
2862571 What is a reaper, exactly? I'm getting the feeling you don't mean something like a grim reaper.
2862593
Here you are. their reasoning? To maintain order.
The Alicorns piss me off. Especially those Elder guys.
2862551 Boy... that is one long comment. Then again, I was hoping for that when I started expanding on cosmology and such...
Alright, first, thanks for the Blueblood part. he's actually interesting to write and one of my favorite canon character. I am unfortunately unable to stop myself from putting him in some scenes. Since it apparently works for you, that's one less stress for me.
Correction, the reason for some of Ventus' madness. Let's not forget that Sam was no angel from the very start.
Also, Renascentia is the Fausticorn, sorry if you got the wrong impression. Also, sorry, but you won't get that story and a half, not now. You're free to speculate until then. Food for thought, every alicorn shown so far was disgusted by the mention of Chaos, and Celestia could and did free him for peaceful coexistence, eh? Now I wonder why, don't you?
Now, power level is a question I don't want to delve on right now. Not with Sam or Tom anyway. However, you bring out a fun point that was to be explained earlier, but was scrapped because it was unecessary. You see, Luna was supposed to tell the tale of the first queen of the Changeling, before she fell from grace as the previous Alicorn of Love. Love Poison was involved. Anyway, my headcanon following that explanation is that Falling weakened the Changeling, but was restored to her previous level of power by Shining Armor's love. Celestia didn't use her full power, because I envision her full power attacks as essentially solar storms, which would reduce more than just Canterlot to ashes.
Judicium hates Chaos, that's really all you need to know. But you can however wonder if that cosmic balance stuff mentioned earlier would allow Judicium safe passage. I'm fairly sure I mentioned something about breaking the rules for it to be possible.
Oh, and that thing about Mercy. Well... mercy can be seen as not handing out punishment even when it is deserved out of goodness, principle or whatever... In essence, would it not be opposite to pure Justice? Again, it's all rhetoric, but darn, I would love to discuss it with you.
2862653 ... Well, I can promise you that kind of planetary destruction won't happen
intentionally.2862673 Oooooh, nice. Please elaborate.
2862713 it is my hope they wont go on a genocidal rampage to rid the galaxy of all organic life. they'd be jerks if they did.
2862826
wow i can't count!
2862713
Heh, I'm sorry to say that my dislike for them is nothing interesting. I just hate inflexible Lawful types and their contrived "Justice".
Also I don't care how strong their bodies are, or what powers they have had the fortune of being born with; I despise that enegmatic and incomprehensible sense of a superior being: "Ooohh, lesser beings weep at your presence, their feeble little minds will shatter at the mere acknowledgement of the vast presence that is you. Fuck you."
2862968 I love it.
But no heresy, that's going against the natural order. And that would be wrong.
2863066
Being human is slapping the natural order with your dick when you don't like it.
...but does he have any trace of his humanity left, hmm?...
2862695
Thanks! Yeah, I hated Blueblood with everyone else thanks to "The Best Night Ever"; but, like some Trixies and a couple Gildas can be, if you can write it well enough, I will love a reformed/nice-ish Blueblood too. And you, dear writer, are doing just that.
No, Sam wasn't an innocent soul, was he? But then, that (not-so-) little sociopath(?) in his brain, the one whispering hatred to his soul, didn't appear to us until AFTER The Cupcakes Incident (and yes, I'm capitalizing it. It's THAT important). It doesn't sound like it was around earlier than that in Sam's life, but we haven't been given a peak at it in the story, so......:shrug:
.....otherwise, I think Sam had been an (teenage) older brother up until the incident; maybe a little "rough" and standoffish, but nothing that would ring alarm bells for trouble (until Tom disappears, anyway).
It WAS a Faust insert?! The force is str-------OW! I'm ok! Just fell off a high pedestal....that I was somehow teleported to.....I blame
Pinkie() something that isn't Pinkie, who must also be tired of Star Wars quotes somehow. ()Of course, with Miss Da Vinci... (heh heh; Spark/Fire of Renaissance, I think you made her name mean? Her name made me giggle a little after I read it a couple more times, especially after the three seriousness-imposing Elders) Talk about bucking the system! ......I mean like applebucking, sillies!
These Alicorns have been working under this one idea of Order for so long, I bet they don't understand why Chaos even still exists (other than to torment them, I mean); for even one of them to think that Chaos could well be a friend/asset/ally to them is downright treasonous thinking, never mind radical or outrageous. Then enter an outsider Alicorn, who has as much power/influence as the Elders of Order, as you called them, to be able to actually have some say among them (else, I suspect a fair amount of heads would have been rolling before Judicium rode off at the end, there) and whose daughters have the audacity to do what most alicorns, it seems, won't: interfere and participate in mortals' affairs, even when it wasn't "justly" needed. All three of which, I think, believe that Chaos isn't just Order's direct opposite, but also Order's equal (the daughters following their mother's lead).
Now that I've thought of it.....what do they think of Twilight's ascension? Was it "just"? Was it "proper"? Or do they think it should have never happened at all? And will Judicium be doing something about that, also?
Ah, so the power levels will be a mystery for now; that's fine. We haven't seen much power out of our HiEtAs (Human in Equestria turned Alicorn) yet, anyway (aside from a mass teleport of items to Ponyville from.....somewhere by Tom), so all the more reason to wait until it'll be needed. I would have loved the Changeling story, though (and Love Poison? ouch, talk about your ironies; and irony again in stealing the new Alicorn of Love's husband to take over Canterlot ).
You did mention the rule-breaking quite a bit; first by Ventus himself, at the first meeting with Celestia, then several times by Celestia herself and in Ventus' own thoughts.
And several times in this latest chapter. I already knew it from the chapter end, but really, the excrement......
------->
will be hitting the oscillation device. :snowflakeYEAH: Even if he'll probably only be acting through proxies at first.
I'm going to step away from the Mercy discussion actually, with just this bit to add: it really can go either way, Justice's better half or direct opposite ( did Chaos kill the Alicorn of Mercy?!?!?! Who happened to be.....:dundundun: Judicium's significant other? (Probably not, but.....one can put in connections where there even aren't any all they want, right? ))
.....Long comment is long. I think I'm going to stick with one topic per chapter from now on.
My first response to that is "No you didn't you never knew that until you AFTER you lied about who you are and everything you just said was dumped into your brain to fill in background information you didn't bother to care about elaborating." (I'm referring to the level of detail of the balance that he acquired from his lie) That's pretty much the only reason why he HAS a secondary longer memory in the first place.
Anyway besides that outburst, I think even Celestia was simply saying "I would've helped you if you just tell me what's really going on," by bringing his attention to that piece of information in the first place. But now that everything has been made real and has pretty much settled into their own places, I'm afraid that "incarnation of Justice" is coming down to strip both Sam's and Tom's humanity from them and make them normal ponies. And by stripping them of their humanity, I mean making them forget EVERYTHING that is related to their human lives. I'm also afraid of what's he going to do the princesses because that maid may have put up the only warning about the "other" impending doom that's coming down to Equestria besides the Wendigoes.
On that note, I'm just glad that Sam is being the better, well, brony with Blueblood by trying to get him to see the error of his ways that night with Rarity and make him the better stallion he is. It's just too bad that Sam is not being the better man in admitting some of his own faults about the "other" situation. Other than I'm proud of his behavior in dealing with Blueblood, I wonder if that's the other thing that Celestia wants him to learn, even though he was kind of right about how Filthy Rich is not exactly punishing her daughter for her bullying enough, but I think he really should just talk to her more and then there's the question of whether or not he's going to be seen as intrusive or smothering and distant or cold. Well Diamond Tiara does look up to him greatly, so maybe talking to her may be a little better than punishing. Thinking about that day when Celestia forced Sam to stay and Tom to train, I wonder if that punishment is for using information that they "technically" shouldn't have known in their outbursts.
... I hope they still have enough time to go back home before their parents get a divorce... but how could they prove that they were IN the show besides the recorded episodes.
Edit: I think I have a rebuttal to your explanation as to why Sam is afraid of the bronies. I think Sam forgot about the fact that bronies latch on to ANY interesting character that makes significant interactions with the mane cast like a parasite because he was so worried about the angry ones that would be okay with torturing his little brother like that he forgot that they could also be the ones that would let him stay in Equestria forever. As in No, they won't let him disappear from existence, because if they would he and his brother would've been outta here by now. In fact if he wanted to get out of here without anyone knowing that much about him, he could've acted like one of those strange overpowering parents/siblings to their overpowering kids/brothers that they acted terribly and they would simply leave as if nothing happened. Anyway, Sam was so caught up on trying to escape as a meaningless "background pony," that he forgot what "background ponies" mean to bronies. So thanks to Tom's interference with the mane cast's life and Sam's ridiculous back story, he ended up making him and his brother the most interesting characters to the fandom has for "this season" and ended up getting EXACTLY what he wanted to be: a background pony. And background ponies that catches the fandom eyes don't disappear from the show, ever.
2863111 Is it so wrong that my first thought about your badass boast was something like "So... women are all screwed? Or do they make judicous use of their boyfriends?"
But anyway, let's expand a bit on the points brought to the table. I can get why you want to slap down the Elders of Order, I really do. When writing this one, I was in a Lovecraftian mood, you know, cosmic horror story style with thoseThings-men-were-never-meant-to-know-without-going-mad. This should be a pretty good hint as to what you're supposed to feel with them. As mentioned earlier in the story, too much Order and you get a lawn, practical, but boring and uniform. Really, the only cosmic force of true good is Harmony.
If I were to describe how this story's canon is, well, I'd say Order is what makes Life possible, but Chaos is what makes it fun.
Wait until you hear about the other Elders of ChaosPlus, you might have gotten the wrong expression with two-third of the Trinity. Incipiens Linea presented the charge, like a judge or whoever does that when opening a trial session. She explained the situation. Vitam Mortem reminded them of past events that should make them cautious, whether about Sam or for Sam's sake, we don't know that. Those two did nothing more than that.
Finally, there was that question about Ventus' humanity and I don't want to say yet, but I can mention that wiping out his dick won't be the answer.
except for the part where he totally scores with a pretty mare2863121 Question. Have you ever read The Best Night Ever? I think you would love it if you didn't already.
Other point, Sam indeed wasn't a psychopath before the story, that much is a certainty. He is developping into one now at least. (Why yes, I am looking at checkpoint list of sociopathy and the likes. It's scary how accurate it can be.)
Ah, yes, names. I'm having a lot of fun with those. Seriously, enter any alicorn's name in a latin translator, and you could get a hint of foreshadowing or important character trait. Bilingual hints are really fun. Heck, I even wondered if some of it is kinda too obvious, wind is "vent" in French, so I was kinda hesitant in naming the main character Ventus.
Let's take a look at some of them. Incipiens Linea is just "starting line", which is fitting considering her inspiration was this piece of fanart. Vitam Mortem is simply Life Death and Judicium Frigus is Cold Judgment. There, characters that have meaningful names, mlp style.
Aw, now I regret deleting that story about Chrysalis. It read like a fairytale to young children. But if you want an idea, it mostly followed the headcanons brought by this blog.
I am puzzled about what you mean by that...
Oh, and please don't limit yourself to one idea per comment, this is wonderful.
2863682 About that thing... are you even sure it was Sam and not Ventus? One of them did always know.
Oh, about Blueblood and possibly Filthy Rich, well, Sam doesn't even know why he's doing it. Or maybe he knows and doesn't want to admit it.
Finally, it's really simple about what you said between Sam and brony fanbase. Well, Sam indeed forgot a lot of stuff, that much is a given, but mostly, it's a big case of Evil cannot comprehend Good. Or some nuance of that. Besides, those two are not beloved background characters. They're more polarizing and big base breakers. Heck, Sam is starting to replace Blueblood in terms of antagonists, as he's easier to justify being a dangerous threat. Also, a popular hate fic trend is to have Celestia and Luna's Spell of Truth reveal him to be a changeling/monster/anything and promptly incinerated.
2864803
Yeah, I'm referring to the fact that he made the Ventus persona to the point that he's a living being now. Ventus sure has heck knows, but Sam didn't and now it seems like he's fusing with Ventus, I think that Spell of Truth thing when he was just an orb was because he didn't know what do with himself and now that Ventus exist, he's slowly fusing with him. According to what you claim about them, it seems like the only way for Sam to change back to normal is to split him and Ventus up. Which brings a scary thought, how would Ventus react to Sam if they became separate beings? Sure they're two parts of the same coin now, but still...
Good for him. I think there's a fault he should also admit to Tom now...
I don't remember any of the bad stuff Sam has been doing besides the "waifu stealing stuff" and preventing Pinkie from making a scene at dinner. Which I would believe the latter is why it's easier to make him into an antagonist along with the power he possesses. I don't see any other bad thing that he did besides that and lying that would truly justify a hate fic, because a hate fic is just that, baseless dislike for something you don't understand. Despite their power they are few in numbers. Both brothers being alicorn-from-nowhere is enough to put anyone on the dreaded stu/sue status. It also doesn't help that my theory of Tom unwittingly making Sam a bad guy from just reuniting with him is also coming true in some way. Whatever it is, his true stress is attractive enough that this thing wants him to be bad no matter how much good he tries to do.
And now I think that could be a meme since you admitted that the bronies saw the truth spell, that means in the bad side he could be a random bad guy that they destroy it and in a good side it's awesome person like Chuck Norris, they hug it.
2864803
To explain simply and easily, it's the "CSI: Miami" trope/meme (I think? I don't actually know what this trope/meme is known as, just that it exists...and that I'm horrible at determining either of them ): Horatio Lane, his puns, and his sunglasses.
---------> was meant to be putting on sunglasses. I tried?
And "excrement will hit the oscillation device" (darn it, should have said oscillating. oh well) is, well, poop hitting the fan. Just in Fancy.
This and recent chapters are making me wonder if Blueblood is not already a sociopath, and if Ventus isn't actually just teaching him how to survive society with it.
I'm looking forward to how all this plays out.
2864803
I noticed some kind of shift in Sam's behavior but I missed the point where this psychopathy started to develop. Was it when he became the Alicorn of the Wind? Or only until his backstory began to include his previous incarnation, the Alicorn of the Sky?
2869379 Blueblood... a sociopath? What makes you believe that? (Seriously, 'cause that is a fun theory.)
2869417 It was before he became an alicorn.
2869903
From what Ventus has said, one of the most defining characteristics of one is a complete lack of empathy for others. Blueblood has displayed that on multiple occasions, though it is played off as part of his belief system. Anyone that disrupts his beliefs about royalty and noble blood is the enemy to him, and he acts with hostility. Of course, when royalty itself is now disrupting those beliefs, with arguments he can't refute, his world is shaken to the core.
Many of the other sociopathic characteristics seem to revolve around being a master social manipulator, which is a trait Blueblood lacks. He seems to wear his thoughts on his sleeve most of the time, like most ponies, whereas a true sociopath would be a skilled liar and actor, like Ventus. Should Blueblood acquire those skills, he might very well become a true sociopath.
With this in mind, I see Ventus giving him advice that amounts to "If you want to improve yourself, you must act in a manner acceptable to others." This seems suspicious, because maintaining a positive social image is part of a sociopath's bread and butter. On the other hand, he also wants Blueblood to "pursue his own dreams, and screw society's expectations!" The balancing of these two paths seems a dangerous one to walk for one with sociopathic tendencies. "Caring only about society for the power it has over you, and pursuing your own goals in secret"... sound familiar?
All in all, I don't think Blueblood is a true sociopath right now, but I think he has the makings of one inside him, and Ventus might unknowingly bring it out. After all, it's not easy for a man with no eyes to guide the blind, why should Ventus believe he can make Blueblood a better person than he is himself?
2870399 (This is the counterargument brought by one of my betas mechaStormwing, sadly, she has been unable to post for a while now)
"While your theory is fun to think about, it does have a few major flaws in it, the largest being how socio and psychopaths actually work.
These people are born like this, they're not created, it's caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain along with what you could call "faulty wiring". These people have absolutely no empathy for others, nor do they see any reason why they should. BB has shown recently that he can empathize with others and is capable of understanding why he's being a jerk, the fact that he's trying to change for the better is proof of this.
A true sociopath would neither be concerned with this nor see anything wrong with it. They would either simply dismiss whatever is being said to them as the arguments of a lesser being or play along until that person is whole convinced that they are "reformed". Going back to the whole "born this way" bit, the only thing you can do is address it as soon as you notice it. After the age of 15, it becomes nearly impossible to treat, and after 18 (when the majority of the brain has matured), it becomes a completely impossible diagnosis to treat. There is no medication or counselling that can work on these individuals. For these reasons, BB cannot be a sociopath, and it's also doubtful that Sam was a sociopath, as his tendancies would have become obvious before now. It's far more likely that Ventus is the true sociopath and is influencing Sam. I say this because he seems to mention that "a small part of him knows it's wrong", which could very well be Sam.
As for the thing about Ventus not being able to teach him anything about being a better pony. At the very least, he can teach him what not to do."
Will Ventus meet that mare again? You know which one. The one feelin' him up.
2947220 Oh? Why do you ask? Is that a scenario you would like to see?
Also, in regards to some of your other comments. As you can read, Sam got lucky with the tabloids at the party, I'm not saying about the stone, but know that I use the term "Prench" as the Equestrian version of French.
He should have said its a matter of perspective.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pPQoRzfm3Q
Intriguing take on HiE story, having actions present in TV show...
6313486 Hey, if a HiE protagonist becomes aware of MLP through the show, it stands to reason that when they get to Equestria, they could be affecting that very same show. Now, a lot of fics clearly don't care much about that question -- it can be irrelevant to the plot, yes --, but I thought it made for something a bit new and intriguing.
She was The Writer
Reminds me of "The Author" from Ounce Upon A Time.
The realm of Order, dimension of the Primordial Law and the home of the alicorns, had cracked.
i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n526/fandominstitches/Blog/thumbs/Cali%20Sims/CrackintheUniverseimagebyCali_zpsc61a7db1.jpg
This has always been my favourite justification for how Blueblood acted during the Gala. Rarity was, by all means, a gold digger. Only interested in him because he's a "dashing prince". Because he's Celestia's
distantnephew. I bet he meets countless mares like that at every gala. Every party. Every ten minutes walking down the street.So he does what he can to deter them, since asking politely, or even sternly and firmly, will no doubt fail.